Blinded
by UltraVioletSpectrum
Summary: The appliances are dumped again, and this time, they can't go back. They retreat to the cottage to find new inhabitants there, who were also abandoned. But a grisly secret threatens, and everyone's lives are at stake. Will the looming evil be vanquished?
1. Spent

**AUTHOR'S NOTE- PLEASE READ**

Allrighty then. This is my first fanfiction in a long, long, long time. And also my first Brave Little Toaster fanfic. I watched the movie not long ago, and it sparked up a need to write up yet another version of an old story I've contemplated but never finished. This time, I'm making a serious attempt at finishing it. This is supposed to be a continuation of the trilogy, directly following _Goes to Mars_. Don't worry if you ahven't seen the sequels, most references will be to the first movie, though there are caharcters, places and events mentioned that are from the sequels. They're all up on YouTube if you wanna watch them.

I must forewarn all you readers, though, that this will be very dark, gory, and idealogically sensitive. Even more so than the first movie. If I got inspiration form Higurashi and Felidae, you know it's gonna be screwed up. Also, I also must forewarn you that OCs will abound in this fanfiction, I have over seven main ones and even more minor ones, so if you're suscipicous of OCs, I suggest you either click the 'back' button or give the story a chance. Not only are there OCs, there are also OCxCanon pairings. Just letting you know before you go flaming me for anything.

Now, then, for the first chapter.

* * *

I never thought it would end up like this. But yet, here we were, stowed away within the dark confines of the now lifeless Salvation Army store.

Everyone else was sleeping around me, and all was eerily dark and quiet. I hated the atmosphere of this place. It was not one of salvation, as the title implied, but rather one of hopelessness and worn sympathy that offered no solace. It smelled heavily of dust, sour milk, and cat pee. Everything they sold in here was old and used. I didn't like it one bit.

I'd been trying to fall asleep for at least an hour, but sleep just wouldn't come. I was still too traumatized by all the events that had occurred previously. I wasn't tired physically, just emotionally. It was hard to take in what had happened.

I'd heard the Master talking about it to the Mistress, but I didn't say anything, thinking it was only a passing thought. I didn't realize he really meant it. "They're getting old," he'd said. "They've got some sentimental value, but you've got to give things up eventually, right?"

"Yeah," the Mistress agreed. "Besides, they're starting to give out. Kind of glitch up."

_Old?_ I'd thought after overhearing the conversation. _I'm not _that _old. Sure, I'm not out-of-the-factory quality, but I'm not rusting over or anything._

But then I realized I _was_ getting old. I couldn't heat up things as good anymore. I smoked out easily. My hope started to plummet downward. _Master was right-__ we are getting old_, I'd thought desolately. _Now what is he going to do with us?_

I'd soon find out.

It was just yesterday. They brought back boxes from the store. When I went over to investigate the strange boxes, my stomach took a hundred-story plunge when I saw a picture of a pristine black toaster imprinted on one. _Oh God, he _is _throwing us out!_ I started to panic.

I remember sitting on the counter with wide eyes, stunned at what I'd seen earlier. I was wondering what would happen to us now that the Master had gotten new appliances. I was experiencing that similar emptiness I'd felt when we were all in the junkyard.

Blanky crawled onto the countertop and had to say "Toaster!" about three times before I finally responded.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked innocently.

"Ah… nothing you need to worry about," I lied. Should I tell him flat out? No. I'd scare him.

Blanky was unconvinced. "Is there something going on?"

"I said it's nothing you need to worry about." I said a bit too sternly.

Blanky didn't say anything else, but I got the feeling I made him worried. I didn't usually act like that, unless I'm under a lot of stress.

Which I was.

I didn't tell the others about the boxes, but I think everyone in the house in knew I was acting weird. Nobody came to ask me questions, which was fine by me I didn't want to talk. But later, near sunset, Lampy approached me cautiously and told me something that made me worry.

"I heard the Master talking on the phone," Lampy explained.

"And what did you hear?" I expected the worse.

"He was calling this 'Salvation' something-or-other and asked when they would be open, if they took donations. I thought it was kind of weird. I just thought I should tell you. I dunno why."

That was when I knew we were heading toward certain doom. "I dunno either. But I'm glad you told me. Better to let feelings go than bottle them up, I always say."

He smiled tiredly and said, "Too right."

But then things got even worse.

The next morning, I woke up with a heavy drape of foreboding over my body. I sighed deeply with a shudder, dreading what lay ahead. I didn't have to wait long.

I heard the Master talking to the Mistress in the living room quietly. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could guess what they were talking about. Abruptly, I wished I wasn't so old.

I heard a slight shuffling in the doorway after they retreated upstairs, and saw Ratso staring at me, obviously wanting to talk. I didn't know he was out.

"Toaster, are you hearin' this stuff?" he hissed, pointing a thumb to the living room. "They're takin' you guys away! For good! Did you know that?"

The question wasn't rhetorical, but I answered anyway. "…Yeah. I did, actually," I sighed. "Just don't tell the others. I don't want to scare them."

"Why not? They're gonna find out eventually. You might as well just spit it out."

"It's a little too late for that…" I mumbled.

"I don't wanna be the one breakin' the ice here. You gotta be the one. Go and tell them."

I suddenly started crying, not of my own accord. "I can't!" I wailed softly. "I just can't! Don't you get it?"

"But-"

Suddenly Radio and Lampy burst in, short of breath. "Toaster! What's going on?" Lampy demanded in a cracking voice.

"Do you know what's happening? All this talk of the Salvation Army and donations! And- wha- hey, have you been crying?" Radio's feats of saying a whole four sentences in one breath have never ceased to amaze me.

I very quickly wiped away tears and said, "Nah. It's that time of year, you know. Pollen and dust." I laughed without much conviction.

Nobody else laughed. "But seriously, something very horrible's going on here!" Radio said.

"I know!" I snapped suddenly. "I know something weird's going on! I know we're going to the Salvation Army, I know the Master's getting rid of us, I know he got new appliances! I know, I know, I know!" About five seconds after that, I realized exactly what I'd just said.

"…And you were whining about how you couldn't tell them…" Ratso muttered after an awkward pause.

"…How long have you known this?" Lampy murmured incredulously.

"A while, but that's not important," I said. "What matters now is "

The Master was walking down the hall with the box. I quickly hid my face and became idle, as did radio and Lampy. Ratso scuttled across the kitchen floor to his cage.

After wondering why the lamp was in the kitchen, he placed Lampy and Radio in the box carefully. Then I was placed in there with them. "Sorry," I heard the Master say quietly. "But it's time to get out with the old and in with the new."

_Packing peanuts inside here as well, eh? What a kind afterthought. At least he cares about us that much._

I broke out of my idle state and looked form Lampy to Radio as they stared at me, faces devoid of emotion. Well, with Radio, that's a given since he has no face, but I digress. My heart twisted up in guilt. What was I supposed to say now? "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner"? That sounds too casual. Maybe I just won't say anything, hoping they'll forgive me.

Soon Blanky was put into the box, too. I had no idea where Kirby was. The box was too small for him. Blanky gave me a sharp glance with those beady eyes of his, then turned away. What? What was I supposed to tell all of you? "Whoops, sorry guys, but the Master's dumping us out, just like he did last time. Have fun trying to process that."

Enough of the guilt trip already. I get it.

The box was soon inserted into the backseat of the car, and we drove off to the city, which was a ways off from our humble abode in the country. No time to say goodbye, even.

"I feel kinda bad just throwing them away," the Master said a little anxiously.

"Don't worry about it. Someone'll fix them up and give them a new home."

Blanky whimpered. "B-but… I don't want a new master…" he murmured shakily.

_None of us really do. I sincerely wish we could do something about it, but then we'd screw up the Master and Mistress' view of the laws of the universe. And we don't want that to happen._

I felt the car come to a halt and tried to swallow down my fear in vain. _Oh God, where are we?_ I wondered feverishly. _Please don't let it be on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. I don't think I could handle that._

But I could tell by the way I heard a door open and a few jingly bells make a jolly tinkling sound, we were in a store. The name Salvation Army popped to mind.

"This is outrageous…" Lampy muttered in a melancholic tone. _No kidding_.

The store sounded really silent. I got a kind of warehouse feeling in the back of my mind, even though I hadn't seen the interior or exterior of the place yet. It was the way the shoes sounded on the floor and echoed off the walls. And the air conditioning sounded awful loud and I just felt cold listening to it. I heard a man's voice say passively, "Hello, can I help you?"

"Sure. You take donations, right?" The box was shaken a tiny bit.

"Let me see 'em." The tabs opened and we all became idle. I felt someone's cold eyes prying about, observing our less-than-perfect quality. "Ah, how old are these guys would you say?"

A slight pause. "Uh… all I know is that my mom got them back in the late seventies. They still work, just not… great. Y'know?" _No, I don't know. Are you insinuating that, due to fact I've started to burn out a bit, I deserve to be dumped into the hands of some poor family or a hobo? I'm afraid I don't understand your logic._

"I see. Sure, we'll take 'em." I heard the Master exchanging something with the clerk, then he grabbed all of us out and stamped cheap price tags that were grossly under-priced (ten dollars is a bit overkill, even for a secondhand donation-funded facility, don'tchya know) and set on a shelf next to other used appliances that, in my humble opinion, were in much worse shape than us. _I guess nobody does any proper cleaning of the residents here, do they?_

"Thank you. Have a nice day." _Geez, the apathy of your voice really annoys me. Go pet a kitten and get some emotion in you, why don't you_.

"No, no, thank _you_. I needed to make room for the new stuff. Bye." The door shut with the needlessly joyous tinkling again. _That was a harsh goodbye, Master. I guess our big journey to find you and saving those animals and your thesis so you could graduate and saving your son from homicidal Martian appliances were all for not, eh? You're very welcome._

I opened my eyes and saw Blanky casting his eyes downward with a big tear dripping down his plastic face. I tried to give him a smile of sympathy, but my attempts were in vain as he gave out a sniffle. Lampy was just staring into space absently, looking simply drained.

"…And the outcasts find themselves stranded on an uncharted desert island within the giant storm. Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion," Radio announced without much conviction, making a subtle attempt at humor.

"…What went on just now?" the deep voice of Kirby said from below the counter in confusion. "The Master didn't give us away just now, did he?"

My heart sank deeply, all the way down to my plug. I tried to swallow down the lump in my throat as I said as positively as I could the words I'd be haunted by for the next week.

"He'll come back. Don't worry. I'm sure he will," I lied almost blatantly.

Oh, how I wish what I said was true. I only wish.

I hadn't even realized I'd fallen asleep, the memory replaying in my exhausted mind, when a warm beam of sunlight cast itself over my face. I woke up with a start and thought, _Woah, wait, where am I?_

Then I remembered.

I looked it over again. A big, dreary, warehouse-like store with walls of what looked like badly painted tin. Too-cold air conditioning. Things strewn everywhere. Not my first choice of real estate.

"It's about time you woke up!" Radio said right behind me quietly, startling me. "It's almost the afternoon!"

"Is it really?" _You'd sleep until noon if you were up all night, too._

"You couldn't sleep either, eh?" Lampy asked in a whisper.

"Yeah… but can you really blame me?"

"No."

Then we were quiet, the whirring of the huge air conditioner filling up the silence. I noticed all the residents around us now. All the residents appliances and knickknacks of all kinds were still and lifeless, waiting for something. Not like I would know. Nobody fills in the newcomers these days, I guess.

The store was lacking customers, just one employee sitting by the register reading the newspaper and looking particularly bored. We were in for a long day.

"Boy, this place sure is happy and lively, isn't it?" Kirby asked sarcastically. _Rainbows and daises abound in this lovely paradise, my friend. Rainbows and daisies._

I sighed. "I guess we're going to be here a while…"

"But didn't you say the Master would be coming back?" Blanky asked fairly loudly. Darn him and his ability to nitpick little details like that.

The guy at the register looked up confusedly. We hid our faces and sat tensely, waiting for him to go away. He rustled in his pocket for something, then I heard footsteps head for the door. A cigarette was lit, and the door with the too-happy bells closed. I looked toward the door, saw the employee give a deep drag, then walk out of sight.

"I bet he takes a lot of breathers," Lampy said.

"That means more free time for us," Radio added.

There was a short pause in which we all just sat and looked around the store. The place was a dump. Almost literally a big, roofed dump for used stuff like us. I felt a terrible, hollow twist in my heart, a feeling of which I'd felt within the dump from what seemed like so long ago. How much I'd done for Master then, and he just threw me out like this? I grit my teeth as I remembered the excruciating pain as I let myself be wrenched and disfigured in the gears of the giant crushing machine. Granted, he had no idea I was the one who saved him form an untimely and messy death, but even so, I think I deserved a bit more respect than that.

"But, Toaster, you said…" Blanky began sheepishly, "-you _said_ that Master would come back."

"Did you lie to us?"

Oh, please, enough of this already! I looked down ashamedly at the tabletop, which was coated in a thin layer of dust form disuse. "Well… I… I just didn't want you guys to feel scared…"

"Well, too late!" Kirby snapped. "We're scared as all get-out now! Why didn't you say anything? You knew, didn't you?"

"…I did…" _Please, kill me now so I don't have to beat myself up later._

"…And you hid it form us… so we wouldn't be scared…" Lampy murmured.

"Look, I have my reasons, all right?" I said solemnly. "…The fact is, now we're abandoned for good, and this time, we can't come back."

"Well, what should we do now?" Lampy asked.

"You five!" a voice barked form across the room, and I saw an old typewriter reveal its dusty face to us. "You're all talking too much! Be silent and still!" He then hid his face and resumed being silent and still.

I just glared back. Like we were actually going to talk in front of the cigarette guy! Just as I thought that, the employee came back in through the door with someone. A middle-aged mom with plain clothes and her little daughter.

Apparently, they had to get new appliances since theirs stopped working. Great. That made us easy targets for purchasing. We still worked. I felt everyone around me tense as they walked by us.

I saw the mom check my price tag, and could feel the little girl looking at her reflection on me. I'll admit, it's hard to resist my enamel's mirror-like beauty. But I digress. I heard the mom scoff and say, "They're asking way too little for these things. I bet they barely even work." _Hey, now! That's profiling, what you're doing there!_

"The guy who brought them in said they worked fine," the employee said in that dreary monotone voice of his.

"Hmm…"

"I want this one, Mommy!" the little girl cried out. She poked me a bit too hard, causing me to fall over onto Radio, who, in turn, knocked over Lampy. _From now on, lady, keep that kid on a leash. Imagine the chaos if you brought her into a china store._

"Delilah Jane! Look what you did!" the mother scolded, re-positioning us. "Look, don't touch; okay, sweetie?"

"Yes, Mommy…" the little girl, Delilah, murmured reluctantly.

"I suppose we'll take the toaster," the mother said in a absolute tone. _No! C'mon, the guys on the other table need attention, too! They've been sitting there for who knows how long!_

"Can I hold it, Mommy?"

"All right, just don't drop it, okay?"

Delilah plucked me off the table carefully, then held me in her arms like a baby. _Don't try and sway me into going home with you- I'm immune to this stuff_. But she didn't put me back, and I didn't hear Mommy change her mind. I cautiously opened one eye, and saw the gang watching me worriedly form the table behind us. I mouthed the words, "Help me" to them, but, alas, there was nothing they could do but watch me get carted away by this family.

After the mom paid the very meager price for me (seriously, though; ten bucks? If you think you're getting business that way, you might want to reconsider your priorities) and a couple of other various appliances, we walked out the door in a plastic bag and were placed into the trunk, and drove away.

I opened my eyes and saw a dusty old tableside lamp, a digital clock whose fiberoptic numbers were losing their color, and a blender. They all had a relieved, dreamy look in their eyes, as if they had just accomplished some big feat.

"What're you guys so happy about?" I asked.

"We're off to a new home now. We're one step closer to fulfilling our ultimate purpose in life."

I arched my eyebrows disbelievingly. The guy sounded as if he'd been rehearsing this and waiting until the time came to say them. Besides, that sounded like a very liberal view of where we were going. Wouldn't surprise me if some guy had told everyone in the shop this before we had a chance to hear it.

So now I was stuck in a plastic bag in a car trunk that smelled like an ashtray with three hippie-like old-timers who were positively tickled pink at the idea of going to a new home.

Please just shoot me now.

"Well," I said casually, "not that I'm not having any fun, but I'm getting out of here."

I turned to open the trunk, and felt a cord grab my arm tightly and fiercely. "Do not try and defy destiny," the lamp said cryptically.

I shrugged his cord away. "Well, what if getting away from here is my destiny?" I quietly opened the trunk, so as the family couldn't see or hear.

"Then we are grievously sympathetic for you," the clock said in a hollow voice. _You don't sound very sympathetic._

"Well, you guys have fun at your new home," I said with a grin. "I'll be on my way."

"But where will you go? You have no home now. Appliances need a home in which to serve their purpose."

"That's none of your concern. I'll figure out something," I said simply.

"…Then we wish you good luck on your search." None of them smiled or waved goodbye, just stood there, watching me with cloudy eyes.

Without a word, I leapt out of the trunk and into the road. I hit the asphalt at about sixty miles an hour, landing with a frightening crash that sent a huge wrench of pain through my whole body. But I was out now. Away from those creepy old appliances and from a family I had no desire to live with.

I looked around me and started when I saw a car racing toward me. I became idle and braced myself, but the tires weren't even close and I missed being flattened. I opened my eyes and looked around again, expecting another car. But the road was now quiet and lifeless, surrounded by houses on all sides. I cautiously dashed out of the road and behind a lamppost. Nobody outside. The road was practically deserted. I couldn't believe my luck.

But I was still somewhat wary, so I ran as quickly as I can down the sidewalks, idling whenever a car passed by. I ran all the way back to the Salvation Army store, which wasn't as far away as I thought. Nevertheless, once I got there I was breathless and exhausted. I was surprised when I saw all my friends peeking through the back door. We quickly regrouped and discussed what exactly we were going to do now.

"Well, now we have to find somewhere else to go," I said. "Because we can't stay here, and we don't want to go to a new home."

"Yeah, but what other places are there to go?" Kirby asked.

"W- I don't know, you guys!" I snapped.

"Quiet!" Radio hissed. "Don't arouse any suspicion! This place got busy after you left, so we barely got out unnoticed."

"Okay, okay," I whispered.

"So, like you were saying, we need to find a place to go. So what options are there?" Lampy asked.

"Well, let's see…" I muttered, thinking. "There's, ah… stay here-"

"I don't like that idea," Blanky said in a whimpering voice.

"Neither do I."

"-Find a home with another family-"

"Also out of the question."

"-Or just stay out in the streets."

There was a brief pause as everyone thought this through. "So that's it?"

"Unless anyone has any other ideas, yeah," I said.

Another pause. "…I-I think I have an idea," Blanky murmured nervously.

"Well, let's hear it then."

"…Well… there is the cottage…"

I grinned. "Blanky, that's a great idea."

"What?" Kirby, Lampy, and Radio cried simultaneously. "But that could take weeks- months, even!"

"Well, what other options do we have? We could just get sold and not be happy."

They thought this over a moment. "You have a point…" Lampy said.

"Yeah," Radio agreed.

"I… guess it couldn't hurt…" Kirby muttered reluctantly.

"Then it's settled. We're off to the cottage. C'mon you guys. We've got a long way to go."

* * *

Six pages in Microsoft Works Word Processor is a record in chapter-writing for me. So is having over fifty KB in data, even though it got minimized to twenty once I put it in WordPad. But, anyhoo, let's get on with the afternote.

This chapter, as you can tell, is told from Toaster's POV. Don't worry, POV's will change throughout the story, depending on who has the biggest role in the chapter or who has the most important prescence, and, eys, that does include my OCs (who will be introduced in the next chapter). Please don't ask if Lampy or Kirby or whoever will get a chapter, because, yes, they eventually will. Just hold yer horses and don't think too much about it.

If you're wondering why Toaster is sarcastic and slightly OOC, my excuse is that I think that pleasant, motehrly attitude he always has in teh movies is kind of a facade. Like, sure, he has good morals and he wants the best for his friends and anyone involved, but depe inside, he's a bit of a cynic and pokes fun at any situation he's in, no matter how sad or earth-shatteringly important it may be. And my second excuse is that he's slightly matured as opposed to Goes to Mars, let's say the timeframe between now and then is... oh, say, five years. Since the second movie, let's say eight. Since the first, about ten. So, yeah. He still has that girly voice, though... I don't think he's ever growing out of that. XD

If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. I don't bite, no matter how snarky I may seem. Besides, I like talking with people. :P

Don't forget to reveiw! Every single one is appreciated, be it negative or just "lol good job". I especially like criticism, I take evry chance I can to improve. So, in short, please reveiw, even if it's a one-word reveiw.

EDIT: HOLY BACON, I hate 's Document editor! I'm trying to add dashes and dividers, but it's being a pregnant goldfish and isn't doing anything. Anybody have any ttips? I'd love 'em.

Cheers,  
~_UltraVioletSpectrum_ (aka Mo)


	2. Entry

**AUTHOR'S NOTE- PLEASE READ**

Hah, I was writing this, and like the moron I am, I closed the tab as I was about to save. |D Oh, me, you really get on my nerves when you do stuff like that.

ANYHOO.  
This is where my OCs and the general setting are established. I don't describe my OC the chapter is told from, so you could find her eference on my deviantART account (which is nukathefox, by the way), and if you want to see all of my OCs, they're on there, too, just not Intel yet. But I do have one reference which is vague and sketchy but it encomapsses all of them. But beware- there are spoilers in the Artist's Comments.  
Now, this chapter is where tehs tory starts getting creepy. If you listen to music wathcing this, I suggest listening to some ncie movie score at first, then gradually start listening to scary music (classic horror movie themes are the best, I listened to the Nightmare on Elm Street theme while typing the creepy part of this chapter, along with soem songs from The Birtdhay Massacre, but whatever.).

Now, then, onto the second chapter...

* * *

Slowly, the sun inched up over the horizon, painting the sky a lustrous gradient of pink, purple, and orange. I watched the picturesque sunrise through the window, and thought to myself, _At least there is some beauty left in the world._

For two years now, nobody had been happy. After our wonderful Mistress suddenly left us, the house had fallen into a deep depression. But it gave me a certain warm joy to watch the sunrise every morning. It sort of became a habit. _I wonder if anyone does this as well?_

I rubbed my tired eyes as my throat forced out a huge yawn. I supposed I shouldn't be up so early just to watch a sunrise. But I couldn't help myself. This was one of the very few pleasures I still had. Now that I was unable to serve my purpose as an appliance, I didn't have very much to live for. I could have ended my life long ago. An appliance has no life unless they are used… but I still didn't. We found ways to cope with the hopelessness.

"'Mornin', Ostera" said a drowsy voice from behind me. I looked behind me and saw Java rubbing her eyes tiredly. Java was a blue-and-green lava lamp with bicolor eyes and a cheery smile. She was almost always happy, full of life and eager to begin a new day. She helped to keep the house stable and everyone feeling better after the Mistress left. She had also helped me stop from totally going off the deep end after… _it_ happened.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah. Watching that sunrise again, I see," Java said with a grin.

"Obviously. I can't help it, the need to get up and watch it every single morning is wired into my brain."

"Sure it is."

"Hey, maybe you could get up and watch it with me some day. You never know, you just might enjoy it," I said casually.

"What? Get up at three in the morning to watch a bunch of pretty colors in the sky?"

"Well, I don't mind it."

"That's you, Ostera; maybe I don't."

"How do you know if you never try it, hm?"

"Nope. Not gonna do it."

This was usually how conversations around the house went. The kind of banter you would listen in on if you were at, oh, say, a coffee shop. Nothing unusual, just everyday talk. But it wasn't like that a while ago. You should know why by now.

Then again, before our current commander took over, we weren't allowed to do anything short of serving our Mistress in her everyday needs. Life was strict, and many appliances were killed. It wasn't a very good system, but nobody said anything, too afraid of being electrocuted or drowned. The ruler then, a self-righteous lamp by the name of Elight, was utterly homicidal, on the edge of clinical insanity. But then, when Intel, a wise lady computer, came along, the house was no longer a fearful place, and we were able to do whatever we pleased, aside form the basic Unspoken Rules of appliances, every household machine's code of conduct. It was truly the good life.

But soon, that was going to change.

As Java and I retreated downstairs, still softly arguing about why me watching the sunrise was crazy, the house started to awaken. The other residents began to stir and yawned themselves awake. Gradually we all gathered near the center of the living room, waiting for Intel to come downstairs and give us our morning run-down. Though there was nothing much to do anymore, we filled up our daily schedules with keeping the house clean and orderly, playing games, and other such things. I did miss warming up a piece of toast or two, but sometimes within the fun, I would forget such thoughts.

Intel knew how to push sadness into the back of everyone's mind. That was why she became leader; she had a certain charisma about her that made people charmed to her command. Unlike Elight, who ruled by fear and death, Intel ran the program with compassion to everyone and let the household have the vote.

I didn't realize how very lucky we were that Intel was so strong and was able to push Elight out of power and into the shadows.

Java started waving to the other side of the room, and saw Toni, our television friend, meander toward us with a grin. Toni was a fairly large silver TV, who didn't walk around just by herself, but with the whole entertainment system and cabinet along for the ride. She communicated by a personification on the screen, a female reporter with short, elegant black hair and a fancy blue suit. Like Java, she was good at making people happy, but that was her job; she let everyone watch old movies the Mistress left behind on her.

"Hey, y'all," she beamed. "Ready for the day, or what?"

"Sure, all depends on whether or not you choose to put on MTV or paid programming," I said with a smirk.

"Hey, now! It's not like I can help it if we get limited reception out here and that's the only thing that's on in the morning!" Toni stuck out her lower lip in a fake pout.

"Good point, but after hearing the same advertisement for a 'great new diet program' for the fifth time and hearing some dumb rap star's newest smash hit, we want a little variety," Java added.

"Did somebody say 'variety'?" a high voice said form behind us. "Because I know for sure Toni has none of that!"

I turned around and grinned. "Oh, and you do, Lennoxx?" Lennoxx was a black alarm-clock radio with bright green fiberoptic numbers that doubled as eyes, and a thin dial to the side of her screen. She didn't have an apparent mouth, but rather, she spoke through the tiny speakers embedded inside her. She was the comedian of the house… literally. She devised her own talk shows with herself to entertain everyone in the house, and played music when someone felt like listening to music. She was the soul of the home, and was the reason none of us completely lost ourselves in thoughts of uselessness and grief. She knew exactly how to make people laugh, and always made that extra effort to make everyone happy.

"But of course!" she countered. "I can access every station in the nation, even out here in the booniest of boonies- what more do you want from me?"

"Oh, I don't know, try connecting to all the stations in the world, then I'll say you have some variety," Java challenged with a smirk.

"Yeah." Lennoxx rolled her eyes. "Because German talk shows about… _lederhosen_ and _schnitzels_… come in lots of handy when you live in America."

"All right, everyone!" Intel's voice boomed through the throng that had gathered around the couch. "Quiet down, we'll begin the start off today's activities."

The chatter and snippets of conversation that floated around the room gradually died down. We all stared intently up at the computer seated upon the leather couch, smiling warmly. She then spoke out in her loud but sweet voice, "Today is a new day, a day that we are all together and well. So let us make good use of this new day. But, before we begin today's activities, does anybody have any announcements to make?"

Everyone unconsciously looked around to see if someone would raise their cord. I definitely didn't expect anyone to, the days were mundane but satisfying, and nobody really had announced anything in previous meetings. But, much to everyone's surprise, a single shaky cord inched up from the crowd, and I heard Stereo's voice say sheepishly, "U-uhm… I have an announcement…"

Intel raised an eyebrow in question. "Really? Well, then, let's hear it."

Stereo shifted her weight a bit and said, "W-well… Blender and I woke up this morning, and we both noticed that Mr. Coffee was gone. And I know he was here last night. So I really don't know where he went… does anyone else know?"

Nobody said anything. Java and I exchanged incredulous looks. That was strange, nobody wakes up not in their designated place. At least nobody that we knew of.

Intel looked slightly worried, but not panicked. Blender was almost in tears at the notion of her close friend going missing, babbling and prattling mindlessly, shaking like a bare tree in the wind. A quiet murmuring swept through the crowd.

"Mr. Coffee isn't like that," Lennoxx said restlessly. "He's the uptight and punctual guy in he house, he doesn't just get up and walk out in the middle of the night, much less miss our morning gathering."

"Seriously," Java added. "And I don't know what Blender will do without him."

"Well, where would he go randomly in the middle of the night?" I asked.

That made all of us quiet.

"Everyone, please, calm down!" Intel cried over the din. The talking ceased. "I'm sad to say that we may have to postpone our plans from now to noon- we have to find Mr. Coffee. Split up into pairs of two or three and look in as many places as you can, we'll find him eventually if we all look together."

Quickly all the appliances in the house got into groups and set off in their own direction. Toni and Lennoxx got together and went out the front door to examine the front yard. That was very brave of them, too, because they were risking breaking one of the Unspoken Rules- never reveal yourself to a human. Java looked down at me and said, "Well, where do you want to start looking?"

"…Maybe… the back yard?"

"That sounds good, I didn't see anyone go out that way."

So we opened the back yard door and stepped out onto the dewy overgrown grass. It was exhilarating- neither of us had really been outside before, besides a few incidents of some appliances falling out the kitchen window and into the rosebushes by accident. So being able to walk around in the grass was an experience in and of itself.

We checked in the rose bushes beneath the window, everywhere in the tall grass, the shed that was slowly falling apart, and within the nooks and crannies of the trees and their roots. Nothing. No Mr. Coffee anywhere.

"Hey, Mr. Coffee!" Java shouted, attempting to get his attention, wherever he was. "Blender's about to have a nervous breakdown; c'mon, buddy, come back!" Still nothing.

"Mr. Coffee, please, come out!" I cried. "Everyone's worried about you!"

I sighed as my echo returned my call. "Gosh, he could be anywhere… I wonder if he heard me, and he's just hiding?"

"Why would he do that?" Java asked.

I shrugged and shook my head. "I really don't know." As I looked around, I noticed the two steel doors near the living room that led to the basement were propped open. I stared in awe. Nobody went down in the basement, at least not anyone with any common sense. It was much too dark for anyone to walk around in, and nobody really knew what kind of things were lurking down there. Even the Mistress was scared to go inside when she had to fetch supplies to do yard work. As I wondered what might have been beyond those old rusty doors, I heard Java walk away form me, saying something about the garden, but I was too engulfed in my thoughts to hear her correctly.

I found myself slowly stepping through the overgrown jungle of grass toward the basement. Some undeniable force within me was making my legs move and direct me toward the forbidding darkness beyond the old stairwell.

I paused before I began the descent down to the murky blackness, turning toward the garden to see Java meandering through the dying stalks and weeds calling out to Mr. Coffee. I hated to just leave her, but Intel _did_ say to search wherever we could.

I took a step onto the first rotting wooden step, which gave a tiny squeak as I lay my weight onto it, and took a deep breath. _Why, oh why, am I doing this? _I wondered.

As I walked, step by careful step, down into the depths of the basement, not only did a sour, moist smell fog my senses, but I could hear voices echoing through the darkness- shouting voices, brutal voices, screaming voices. When I finally reached the concrete flooring, I noticed that a few old light bulbs were switched on, giving the basement a feeble, flickering yellow light that was very eerie and disorienting. I still couldn't make out anything the shouting and screaming were saying, but I could feel somebody was very afraid and that somebody was trying to hurt the person who was screaming. I gulped and kept walking, wishing I would have just stayed with Java.

The lights may have been dim, but once my eyes adjusted to the gloom, a ghastly scene unfolded around me. The concrete floor was patched and splattered with not only water and mold, but oil and grease. Oil and grease was the essential lifeblood of all machines, and the sight of the dark puddles that lay scattered about the floor made me nauseous. Against the walls, boxes upon boxes upon boxes were stacked in piles up to the ceiling, most moist and decaying with the mildew and mold infecting the cardboard. But not only were there boxes that were stacked in unkempt piles. I cringed in horror and swallowed down bile as I made out the dark forms of dead and broken appliances and machines that lay strewn in between the towers of cardboard boxes. Some just lay on the floor as if they were just carelessly thrown there, but then I became even more horrified as I saw a few hanging form the pipe works that protruded from the walls by their necks by old extension cords. Most of them had gashes engraved into their enamel or chrome, dark, crusted over with oil or grease, and crawling with insects. Some just lay in an eternal coma, bodies splayed out and their eyes rolled back into their faces.

I wanted to run back up the stairs and away from this gruesome slaughterhouse-like hallway, but again, some brave force within me kept me going through the carnage and toward the voices.

The voices were getting clearer, and I could pick out what they were saying now.

"Please, no! I beg of you, please! I didn't do anything!" a voice with a thick French accent screamed.

"Shut up!" a high, scratchy female voice snapped. I heard a slapping sound, metal against metal. "Shut up and stay quiet, you disgusting lowlife! Like your kind have any excuse to even grace the planet with your caffeine-filled presence!"

It was then I realized who was screaming.

Mr. Coffee, the coffee maker everyone in the house was looking for. Apparently, somebody was keeping him down here, saying and doing terrible things to him, enough to make him plead for mercy in that hysterical tone. That wasn't like Mr. Coffee at all. He was a sophisticated and dignified kind of machine, one who never raised his voice.

But who was the second voice from?

I noticed the carnage and boxes were thinning as I walked still farther down the hallway. It was then I was the edge of a bathtub, and a crowd gathered around it, consisting almost entirely of lamps. They were all deathly silent as they watched the bathtub, apparently waiting for something. I crept a bit farther sideways, and saw Mr. Coffee, trembling, eyes wide and crazy with fear, poised on the edge of the bathtub, hooked up to an extension cord that plugged into a socket in the wall.

Behind him stood someone I thought none of us would ever see again.

Elight.

The homicidal, cruel former ruler of the house stood behind Mr. Coffee, a grinning morbidly with her cord grasping Mr. Coffee, ready to push him off the edge and into the water of the bathtub.

That, right there, is any appliance's worst nightmare: falling into water while plugged in.

And Mr. Coffee was just one step away from a horrible, frightening death.

Elight was a tall lamp with a silver head, a black base, neck, and cord, with startling green eyes that seemed to glow with an eerie light, that were a very stark contrast to the rest of her body because of the dark circles that were underneath them. Her default expression was usually one of anger or spite, but now she grinned with malice, her eyes wild as she stared into the crowd that seemed to be awaiting Mr. Coffee's death.

_But… why?_

I was going to find out soon enough.

I snuck behind an old box and observed the scene from there, careful not to be seen by anyone.

"P-p-please!" Mr. Coffee cried, squeezing his eyes shut. "Don't kill me! Blender simply won't survive without me! Please!"

"I said shut up, you waste of plastic!" Elight snarled. "Unless you really want the knife treatment…"

Mr. Coffee didn't say anything, only sobbed and continued to shake in fear.

"Now, then." She cleared her throat, and raised her voice to address the silent crowd. "As we all know, most of our punishments have been ones of failure. Some of our victims have gotten away and back into Intel's fractured idea of society. But recently, all our victims have been successfully stored in the prison and ready for the mass execution we have been devising."

_Mass…. execution? _I shuddered. What was she doing?

"Last night, we captured this victim-" she shook Mr. Coffee as if to make a point "-to start the first execution of many. Today, you shall see justice reborn once again, and our glory will be restored to everything it once was!"

A cheering rose up from the crowd. I gulped down the bile rising in my throat and expected the worst.

"Begone, vile impurity!" Elight shouted with homicidal delight. "For we shall take the world without you!"

And with that, Mr. Coffee was shoved brutally off the edge and into the water.

I cringed and simply stared in horror as Mr. Coffee was electrocuted. The room was cast in a bluish light from the sparks and volts shooting through the room. He writhed and flailed about, splashing water everywhere in the process, screaming so agonizingly I thought I could feel his pain. Elight was chuckling madly, staring at the dying coffee maker with such malice, it made me scared to even look at her.

I turned around quickly so as not to see the sickening execution that was taking place in front of me. I had to get out. I started to run, but my cord got caught in a nick in the ground. I heard Mr. Coffee go silent, something splashing, then a sharp thud as metal hit the concrete. I could only assume Elight had taken him out and thrown him aside. Elight just laughed even more wildly, and my stomach turned at the horrid sound of her shrill laughter. I almost started to hyperventilate as I tugged at my cord, wishing I could just be back above ground already, away from this mess.

Finally, my cord came loose, but the force of the dislodging was so powerful I flew backward, straight into a tower of boxes and dead machines. The tower quivered, then fell forward, scattering wet cardboard and various junk all over the floor, the corpses around me being crushed under the weight of everything.

Elight's laughter stopped abruptly. "_Intruder_!" she shrieked. "Catch them, quickly!"

At her command, two lamps from the crowd broke off and ran toward the pile of boxes I had created. I hastily tried to get out from the tangle of box and corpse, but it was no use- in seconds, they had me secured in their grip with my hands bound behind my back and my mouth covered.

Elight was walking toward me with a sickly sweet grin, her fluorescent green eyes flashing. I squirmed in the lamps' grasp, but to no avail. I just looked back at her with wide, perhaps fearful, eyes, expecting the worst.

"Ostera, my dear," Elight crooned. "Such a long time since I last saw your pretty little face. I've missed you and your whining."

I tried to talk back, but Elight put one of her prongs on my lips. "Don't talk, love. It won't do you any good now. You're lucky I've spared your life after all that you've seen."

She suddenly braced a kitchen knife to my neck. Not a butter knife, either- I mean a sharp, cutting knife. It was stained with years of oil. I held my breath and wondered if Elight would slit my throat. But she didn't. "Now, listen closely, Princess." She inched her face close to mine, so close I could feel her warm breath. Her eyes were narrowed and her head was tilted downward, so that her green eyes were just neon slits on her face. "Once you go back up to that hellhole you call home, I don't want you to mention any of this to anyone. Not your friends, not Intel, nobody. Should word get around, I will personally bring you back down here, take away everything you hold sacred, beat you to within an inch of your life, and force you… _to live_. Have I made myself clear?"

Helplessly, I nodded. What else was I supposed to do?

She grinned. "Good then. Let her go."

The henchmen obliged, pushing me away as they did so. I stumbled a bit, and looked back up into the dark face of Elight. "It's been wonderful talking to you again, Ostera," she sneered. "Now, get lost, before I send you to the prison."

I didn't waste any time as I turned my back to her and fled, as fast as I could, through the carnage-filled hallway and up the stairs. When I reached fresh air and the still-moist grass, I quickly slammed the doors shut and lay against them, panting from my descent and growing horror. What Elight was doing was crazy. Though I still had no idea why our former ruler was killing innocent appliances like Mr. Coffee, I was still appalled. The image of Mr. Coffee being electrocuted, screaming and writhing in the water, flashed before me yet again, and I swallowed hard, fighting back nausea.

"The first execution of many" Elight had said… that meant anyone who lived in the house was next on their list.

Including me.

Soon, Java decided Mr. Coffee wasn't in the garden and found me by the basement.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I… I had a run-in with a rat," I lied. "I didn't find Mr. Coffee down there, though." I lied again.

"Thank goodness," Java sighed. "We would really think he was losing it if he was hiding down there, huh?"

"Y-yeah…"

She walked with me back into the house to find that nobody else had found him, which I knew would happen. Blender broke down, sobbing and saying it was all her fault that he wasn't to be found, Stereo all the while trying to comfort her friend in vain. I didn't say anything, remembering Elight's threat, which did not sound hollow at all, judging by her past acts of violence.

"We will have to accept the fact that a good friend has been lost," Intel unnecessarily.

_Ha, more than you know, _I thought.

"But we will go on with our lives. Though it is saddening indeed, we won't let something like this stop us from living." _Don't be so quick to say something like that,_ I thought. _Who knows what Blender will do now without her confidant._

Throughout the day I couldn't stop thinking about the execution and Elight's words. Apparently, there would be more deaths, and slowly the population up here would decline until nobody would be left but Elight and her lackeys. But one question bobbed about in my mind…

Why?

Well, I would soon get my answer.

From a very unexpected source.

* * *

Okay, then; first off, I apologize for not describing Intel's physical traits at all besides she was a computer, I couldn't find a good place to squeeze in a description. :( Hope you can forgvie me for that.  
Secondly, I didn't say exactly what Elight's plan was, because there's no point in repeating it to her followers who already know the whole dealio, and I wanted you guys to guess. |D Go ahead, guess.  
Thirdly... who else can imagine Elight going 'THIS IS SPARTAAAAA!" and kicking Mr. Coffee into the water? xDDDDDDDDD (Thank you, Kage, for that wonderful joke.)  
Uh... yeah. That's all I got.

Reveiws are appreciated, ocne again. ^^ C'mon people, I don't bite. :3

Cheers,  
~_UltraVioletSpectrum_ (aka Mo)


	3. Invert

**AUTHOR'S NOTE- PLEASE READ**

YES.  
THIS STORY.  
IS STILL ALIVE. 8DDDDDDDDDDDD

Sorry this chapter's short, I wnated to get it done so we could get to chapter four, which will be better than this and we'll actually get the story progressing.

Besides, this one is kind of filler, but I just felt I had to tell how the gang got there.

Whatevs. Just enjoy, and be happy that I'm actually keeping this story going. xD

* * *

The night was dark, or at least it seemed to be, being such a stark contrast from the light I cast over our path. The highway was far off now, though we could still hear the rumbling of all the speeding cars over the broad stretch of road. The trees were starting to thicken, blotting out the moonlight that now came in patches. I was starting to get tired, but I didn't say anything. I'd keep us going until we came to the decision to stop.

We'd had a bit of trouble trying to get out of town, seeing as we not only needed a means of transportation but a good power source as well. After we'd gotten a plan devised, we managed to pick off an old kids' wagon from the back of the Salvation Army store. After traveling about a mile into the town, we found an electronic store and barely scraped by with a dingy old battery that was only half-charged. We decided only to use it when we absolutely needed it.

We'd spent the rest of the day trying to get out of the city without being noticed, which was pretty hard, considering a red child's wagon out in the middle of a parking lot doesn't really blend in with the whole scene. We had quite a few close calls, but thankfully, none of the Rules were broken in the process of beginning our long, perhaps miserable and exhausting, trek back to our first real home.

So now, nightfall was starting to take its toll, and I knew all of us were on the verge of falling asleep, though nobody had said anything. We were all under a weird strained silence that was almost suffocating. I had to pop the bubble of silence before I went crazy.

"I… ah…" I started uncertainly. "…Maybe we should stop."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Kirby wheezed, pulling over next to a tree. He unhooked himself from the wagon and collapsed to the ground, obviously exhausted.

When the wagon stopped, Toaster jumped with a squeak as his eyes snapped open, and looked around wildly. But as soon as we saw everyone was there, he relaxed and said drowsily, "Sorry. I was half-asleep." Then he slowly nodded off and before I knew it he was asleep again, breathing softly.

Nobody bothered getting out of the wagon, too tired to even move out of the place they sat, only had the energy to stretch out into a comfortable position. Not even Radio said a word before dozing off.

I curled up on the cold surface of the wagon into a position that felt nice enough to sleep in, and soon, I was deeply asleep and snoring lightly, mumbling occasionally in my dreams.

I couldn't sleep.

No matter how many times I tried, I didn't fall asleep.

Everyone except me was sleeping, and I didn't think they would wake up any time soon. I couldn't stop thinking about how quick the Master gave us away. Why would he do something like that? Did he just not want us anymore? I couldn't figure it out, no matter how much I thought about it.

And what about the Little Master? What would he do without me? I was his Blanky, no matter how much bigger he got, I would always keep him warm. And now we couldn't see each other anymore. Who would keep him warm on all those snowy nights?

I started thinking about how long I'd been with the Little Master, and how much time I'd spent around him, and couldn't help but start crying. I was scared.

I was scared of losing my home, and my Masters along with it.

Maybe I was being silly and not thinking right, but I was still scared. I didn't want to go back to the cottage, I felt sorry I even said anything about it.

But… where else would we go?

Now I wasn't just scared, I felt guilty, and on top of that, I was tired. I really wanted something to snuggle with, but I remembered the last time I tried to do that in the stick forest on our first journey.

Thinking about what I'd done and what would happen now that our master abandoned us, I cried myself to sleep and had scary dreams about monsters crawling on white walls, saying terrible things, all ending in "_It's all your fault_."

What had I done?

The journey had been long. But slowly, as we blindly stumbled from the city into the beyond, we began to discern landmarks from our previous quest, and we simply backtracked from there. It was kind of strange. Nostalgic, even- in a weird sense.

The journey was long, and silent. We were just focused on the cottage, getting back to our roots. The battery had only lasted a while before it went out on us, so only used energy when absolutely necessary. Remembering what happened last time I'd tried to rescue a battery, I just laid low and didn't try anything again. I didn't want to lose my bulb again, nor flirt with death. Especially not the latter.

The forest of sticks had thinned as twilight began descending on us, and now we were making our way through the little woods that was patched with pleasant birch trees and blotted with small ponds. It would have been much nicer if we'd stopped to look over it again.

The already sparse trees were getting thinner as we kept going. Home was close, I felt it. Soon, there it stood, atop the hill. It was edged in soft orange light in the sunset, a black silhouette. It looked a bit different than I remember it, but somebody had bought the house and most likely remodeled it. The windows were dark and eerie, I noticed as we drew ever closer.

"We're back," I heard Toaster mutter, breaking the fragile thread of silence.

"We sure are," I replied.

We stopped halfway up the path that lead to the patio.

"Well, this is it. We're back home," I said with finality.

"Should we go in?"

Toaster suddenly interjected once again. "Maybe someone's inside."

"I doubt it, do you see how dark it is in there?"

"Yeah, but… I just got a gut feeling we should at least knock or something."

I shrugged. "Whatever you want to do."

Toaster leapt from the wagon, and made his way up onto the patio. He hesitated at the door before cautiously using his cord to press the doorbell, which broke through the summery static noise of the twilight.

Little did we know what lay behind those doors.

* * *

Again, I apologize for this chapter being short. ^^;

POV's are Lampy and Blanky. Why did I give Blanky a section of chapter-time? Honestly, I have no idea. I just felt like he needed to be heard out. *shrug*

I'll try and get chapter four done as quick as I can, so I won't keep you guys waiting for so freakin' long.

Letting You Off With a Coat and a Dagger, (Kudos if you get the song reference~)  
~_UltraVioletSpectrum (aka Mo)_


	4. Censor

**AUTHOR'S NOTE - PLEASE READ**

Oh yeah, baby.  
I got it done.

It's fourth chapter of Blinded, in which things are revealed, villains are awesome and writing goes from good to super-fabulous! 8D

This chapter is only a bit shorter than the first two; a nice change of pace since the last one, which was a midget-filler to prove I was alive. xD

Read on, my lovelies- read on.

* * *

Chiming from the doorbell roused me from my sleep. At first I was confused, then simply awestruck. Nobody had rang that doorbell since the Mistress left; the sound was almost foreign.

It was still somewhat light out, and everyone had only just begun falling asleep. Slowly, everyone made their way to the door, jaws agape as the doorbell rang once again. And again. And again.

Java made her way to my side and we both exchanged perplexed looks with each other. We didn't say anything, but I knew we were both thinking the same thing: What could possibly be outside the doors?

Intel slowly shuffled through the crowd and up to the door. For a moment, she said nothing.

"What's going on?" Lennoxx whispered shakily, breaking the silence.

Intel quietly shushed her. "Listen," she said.

I did. I heard voices outside, faint but unmistakably there. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but I could tell they were all male, except for maybe two.

"Sh-should we let them in, whoever they are?" I asked meekly.

Intel didn't answer, but instead raised her voice and asked to the voices, "Who goes there?"

Dead silence, for at least ten seconds.

"Uh… this'll be hard to explain…" said one of the higher voices.

"Simply put," said a deep voice, "we used to live here, and we came back. So let us in."

A quiet muttering spread through the crowd that had congealed by the door. I certainly hadn't heard of appliances being dumped and coming back. None of us really knew what to think about it.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Intel asked.

"Why would someone lie about something like that?" said another male voice incredulously, higher than the last one, but lower than the first one.

"No kidding!" said the first voice angrily. "Why would we travel for three days from the city to here if we were lying? We don't have anywhere else to go! Just… please let us in!"

Intel considered this. "Very well, then. I think we can trust you enough, even without seeing you."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Intel stretched her cord out and the door was clicked open. Slowly, very slowly, the door inched open to reveal a group of five appliances standing in the threshold before our eyes.

There was a long, painful silence in which everyone examined the other in awe. Standing in front was a male toaster who was conspicuously similar to me in looks, although his enamel was a reflective silver and mine was white, his eyes brown and mine a sky blue. He was extremely handsome, and the moment we locked our eyes I felt butterflies batter my stomach and my face grow warm.

Behind him stood a yellowish-orange lamp and a red radio. The lamp was lanky and rather tall for a lamp, his neck silvery, while his head and base was a dull orange and his eyes a pleasant yellow, with a unique cord the color of his base. He looked rather friendly, judging by his gentle smile. The radio beside him was faceless, but I figured he spoke like Lennoxx did: through his speaker. He had a yellow circular dial and a long silver antenna. To be honest, he kind of freaked me out at first.

Hanging behind them was a small yellow electric blanket, with a beige plastic face and a pink knob nose, beady eyes weary as he observed us. He had the demeanor of a little kid, which I found positively adorable. Also behind them was a large vacuum with a stony-looking face and a gruff air about him. His bag was a forest green color, his chrome a dark gray with a dull shine.

I was definitely surprised at seeing any of them anywhere near our house, but I had no idea at that moment how much they would change my life by their discovery, or rather, rediscovery, of our residence.

And so the former household and the current household was now united.

We all slowly made our way into our old estate, observing the new surroundings that still held a sense of well-being. I tried my best to avoid looking at the pretty white she-toaster standing by me. She really was gorgeous. Her blue eyes reminded me of icy diamonds.

"Welcome," I heard the strong yet gentle voice that greeted us by the door say. "Welcome, all of you. We're glad to have you here."

I turned around and saw an elderly-looking she-computer who I could already tell was sharp as a tack despite her apparent age. She had bags around her dull yellow eyes, and somehow managed to keep a pair of spectacles upon her head. She was a pale grayish-yellow with a blue power button on the right-hand corner of her screen, which was off at that moment. She looked very compassionate, and I didn't feel all that intimidated any more.

"Now, then. I hear you're all former residents of our humble abode?"

"Y-yeah…"

Suddenly the crowd of appliances (mostly females, I noticed- score!) started asking questions, all at the same time.

"How long was the journey?"

"Did you really live here once?"

"How did you ever get back?"

"Who was your Master?"

_Woah, woah, woah! One at a time, if you please, ladies!_

"Quiet! Quiet, please!" the lady computer projected to the crowd. "Let me ask the questions. Now, will you all introduce yourselves?"

We did. They did the same. I couldn't get over how pretty the she-toaster- Ostera- was. I almost felt unworthy in her statuesque presence. There weren't many appliances in the house to introduce, maybe a dozen, more or less.

"Where's your Master?" I asked. A heavy silence answered my question. Everyone visibly bowed with sadness.

"We used to have a Mistress," Ostera murmured sadly.

Silence.

"And?"

Silence.

"She left."

I sighed. "I'm very sorry…"

"But you know," Lampy said, "we had the same thing happen to us."

Intel's intelligent amber eyes noticeably glimmered with interest. "Did you really? Would you mind sharing the tale? I'm sure we would all love to hear it."

I relayed our tale, from the moment the Master left to when we got back. As you can imagine, it took quite a long time; but thankfully nobody interrupted us, just stood and listened intently. It was nice to have a good audience. Everyone likes a nice, quiet audience.

After I'd finished retelling our story, there was a moment of silence. "So you're a success story…" Ostera murmured, shaking her head in awe. "I never thought any lost appliance could find their way back, not once, not twice, but thrice!"

I shrugged. "I guess we're just lucky."

"Understatement of the year!" said Lennoxx, the black clock-radio. "You're far beyond lucky, my friends. Some higher power must really like you all. Our Mistress left, but we'd never think of going out to _find_ her- it's improbable. We're all waiting for someone else to find us, and then everything will go back to normal."

"I knew I had the right idea," said Kirby half to himself.

"Don't say that," Intel reassured us. "You are all very well-off with your choice, and evaded most consequences. That's more than any of us could hope to achieve in our lives."

"Enough flattery," Lampy said with a flip of his plug.

"My ego's about to burst," Radio interjected. Everyone got a laugh out of it.

"So," I said, "you said your Mistress left. Could you tell us the story? As they say, an eye for an eye."

All was still for a moment. "Ostera, could you do the honors?"

"Certainly." She walked up, nearly dazzling me with her poise alone, took a breath, and began. "Our lives were like that of any other appliance. We were shipped out of the factory, to a convenience store, bought out of that and into the home. We all served our purpose as best we could, as any other appliance would. One would think we were a regular, rather ordinary household. But that was a façade. Behind closed doors, there was a black presence of a puppet master, if you will.

"Unlike most other households, we had a ruler. I myself have no idea who came up with the idea of a monarch to monitor our duties around here. But we had one either way, and that was that. Her name was Elight. She was a tall, thin lamp with a silvery head and base, and a black spine, cord, and plug. Her eyes were the most fluorescent green I've ever laid my eyes on- they seemed to be piercing through your skin, calculating your every move. To magnify her intense gaze, her eyes had thick dark circles around them. She was almost beautiful, in a dark, mysterious, hypnotic way. But it wasn't her appearance alone that made her evil.

"She was no monarch- she was a dictator, a tyrant. She didn't rule like Intel does now. She scared people into following her rules, she ruled by force and fear. Her bloodlust was amazing- any empathy she may have had was concealed, and very well at that. She made examples of people. And by examples, I mean she publicly executed what she saw as lawbreaking appliances in front of everyone, so she could convey the message, 'Don't break my laws, or you'll end up like this damned soul.' She also held prisoners, scarred and beaten, for examples as well. It was scary, to say the least. Every day was like a game of life and death. Follow her rules, and be scared into obedience, or break the laws and be executed.

"Eventually though, her rule came to an end. The Mistress came home from the store one day and brought home a computer- Intel. For a while, though, life remained stagnant and fearful as always. Intel was so incredulous at this lifestyle she decided she ought to do something about it. Though we all pleaded, telling her it was no use, that Elight would just kill her, Intel stood up to Elight in front of everyone.

"'This is no way to rule a society,' Intel said to Elight.

"'How dare you!,' Elight screeched. 'How dare you resist me, question my laws! You have some gall. Best thing to do now is rid of you, right here, right now.'

"Elight pulled out her knife and swung at Intel with it. But Intel caught the blade just in time, though it scarred the plastic of her cord. 'You are no queen of mine,' said Intel. 'Not mine, not theirs, not anyone's!'

"'Then I suppose you would do better?' Elight challenged.

"Intel then held a vote for who should rule. Some, out of fear, voted for Elight, though they all looked paralyzed at the thought. Intel, though, won the vote by a landslide. Elight was infuriated, and demanded a recount. But Intel remained firm, even as Elight spat and raved at her in her rage. Thereafter, Elight was banished to the basement, ordered to stay there and never come out. To this day, nobody has seen her. (Ostera noticeably shivered, though I had no idea why.)

"Shortly after Elight's banishment, our Mistress left. There was no notices, no signs. She just left. She just left one day and never came back. Nobody knows what happened to her. Some say she moved away, some say she was kidnapped, some say she might have even died. But nothing is known for certain. For quite a while, the house was in shambles. All motivation was drained out of everyone, and we all fell into a deep, spiraling, hopeless depression- even Intel, though her association with the Mistress was minimal in the short time she was still there. She insisted we all keep up high spirits and try and live life as normally as we could. We did that, for almost a year, now. And then you all arrived. That's our story."

"Wow…" was all I could say. How much pain they all must have been in! An appliances' purpose is to serve their Master, and not much else… and to have that stripped away was horrible. Now we were going to feel that same pain as well now, since we were outlaws.

"I'm so sorry…" Lampy murmured.

"Don't be," said Java, the lava lamp. "We're okay now."

"And until something happens, we'll continue living this way," Intel explained with a smile.

"I suppose it's not a bad way to live," I said.

"I suppose not," said a scratchy voice form behind us. I turned around and saw something lanky and wiry leaning in the shadow of the stairwell. Iridescent green eyes, bright as day, flickered from the darkness, and it stirred an indescribable sense of dread in me, as though the eyes could stab straight through me. The shadowy figure emerged from the gloom and revealed to us was the lamp of which Ostera had described to us. Elight.

She was scarier in person. To see those eyes was a paralyzing sight. You were like a deer under headlights in her gaze. And Ostera wasn't lying when she said Elight was almost beautiful. She moved in a graceful yet threatening manner, like a cat stalking her prey. Wrapped in her cord was an old steak knife, stained with the yellowish color of oil, the sight of which sent a shiver down my spine. All the residents cowered and backed up a step or two, and I could see quite a few trembling with fear.

Intel's eyes narrowed, looking directly into Elight's headlight-eyes. "You know I've banished you from the inside. Get out."

"Come now, Intel," Elight drawled, slowly twirling her oily knife. "All I wanted was to see our new guests. Can you spare me that much, my dear old queen?"

Intel said nothing, but still glared at the she-lamp with a hatred the likes of which I'd never seen. Elight sauntered slowly over to us, smiling a tiny smile of what looked like morbid amusement, like someone playing with a dying mouse. Ostera hastily gripped my hand in hers, quivering with wide, terrified eyes. I had no time rejoice the feeling of the white beauty holding my hand however, for soon the former monarch was upon us.

"Welcome, my dears, welcome," she said. "You all look a rather wizened bunch. You've had many adventures in the past, I can tell by that rambunctious gleam in your eye."

"Y-yeah…" I said.

She turned to me and Ostera, and chuckled, the sound of which sent another shiver down my spine. "Already getting attached, are we?" she queried when she saw Ostera gripping my hand. Ostera frantically let go and fled into the crowd.

"Look at you all scramble," Elight laughed loud enough for everyone to hear. "Making our guests suspicious."

Intel spoke again. "You've met our guests- now leave."

Elight ignored her, staring at Lampy with her gleaming eyes. "You," she said simply.

Lampy winced. "M-me?"

Elight nodded slowly. "You look like you have potential, my friend- the potential to fulfill a task of mine. May you be so kind as to accept my favor?"

"He will not!" Intel barked. "You will leave now or face the consequences."

Elight simply smiled at the she-computer. "He has every right to do as he wants. Surely you can't argue with that, Intel?"

Intel said nothing yet again, and stepped back with reluctance. Elight took her cord in his, and a hungry spark shone in her eyes. "I'll ask again: will you accept my favor, dearest?"

I could almost feel Lampy's internal struggle as he thought wildly what to do. "A-All right…" he murmured finally.

Elight grinned. "Good boy. Oh, dear! Look at the sky! It really is becoming late. You must come with me, to fulfill our favor. I'm sure you all won't mind?" Before waiting for an answer, the she-lamp led Lampy out of the room and before she went into the kitchen to get to the back door, she turned to the crowd, smiled, and said. "Good night." She then left with Lampy.

Nobody knew what to say for quite some time. The fear gradually faded away, and Intel lost the blaze of hatred in her eyes. "It's late," she said. "We should all go to sleep."

"Where do we sleep?" I asked. "We don't have a designated spot here."

Intel smiled. "You're free to sleep where you please, my dear."

The residents slowly made their way to their places, readying for bed. The spot I would normally sit- on the counter, near the sink- was occupied. Where would I sleep, then?

I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. Ostera stood behind me. "Y-you can sleep with me if you want…"

I accepted her offer. She let someone else take her spot, and, much to my confusion, she led me upstairs. "Where are we going? Toasters belong in the kitchen."

"Nobody said we _have_ to sleep in the kitchen," she countered. I couldn't argue with that.

We made our way upstairs and soon I found she'd led me into the Master's old bedroom. I was half overjoyed and half disappointed, since the room had changed so much since I saw it last. But why'd she take me here?

"We're sleeping on the bed tonight," Ostera explained, as though reading my mind. She leapt up onto the bed with a soft thud. "It's nice and comfortable."

"But… why the bed?"

"Why not? Hey, Toaster, we're friends, right?"

The question caught me off guard. "I-I don't know… we only just met each other."

"We can still become friends, though, right?"

I didn't answer, my face growing hot with every passing moment. Ostera giggled when she saw my face. "I'll take that as a yes. Come on up here with me. I don't bite, and neither does the bed."

I debated with myself for a while whether or not I should. Part of me said to do it and bond with white beauty, the other part of me said it was unnatural for appliances to sleep in beds. Finally I just said screw it and leapt up there with her.

It took a while to get used to the feel of it. I won't deny it was comfortable, but it felt very unnatural at first. Soon I found a comfortable position and lay there, staring up at the ceiling. Even that had changed. Slowly the sliver of remaining light from outside faded and we lay there in silence for a while, not sleeping, just thinking.

"Since we're becoming friends and all," said Ostera suddenly, "I ought to tell you my story, too. Not just one of the house, but of me. Well, more like me and someone else…"

_Someone else? You mean she was with someone before this?_

"Well, go ahead and tell me, then," I said. "Becoming-friend."

She smiled, but only for a moment before she grew solemn and told her tale.

"When I was first brought to the house, I was nervous and really frantic. I sought- no, craved friends. I was very needy back then, and still am. I grew close to Java, Lennoxx, and Toni, and I became close with Intel, too. But I felt like I needed more. And then I met him."

My stomach gave a surprised twinge at the amount of syrupy adoration in her voice. _She was with someone before this_. I was slightly disappointed, but kept listening.

"His name was Kenmore, he was a microwave, large but gentle, my color of white, gorgeous green eyes. He was very handsome. The moment I saw him, I knew we were simply meant to be. He was the nicest guy I've ever had the pleasure to meet. He cared for me- for everyone. We first started out as just good friends, but eventually, we both knew our feelings for each other, and our friendship grew to a whole new level.

"Loving someone intimately was forbidden during Elight's rule. So we had to keep our relationship secret, and we succeeded for a year and a half at keeping our love hidden from Elight. It was the best time of my life. But fate had different plans.

"One morning, after Elight had been banished to the basement, Kenmore stopped working. He couldn't turn on. That was the same morning the Mistress left us. We were all extremely crushed at her departure, but Kenmore took it the worst. He blamed himself for it, and, later that evening, he threw himself into the trash. He couldn't serve his purpose even if he wanted to, and therefore, he had no life to live. So he threw himself away. I would have done the same after that, if not for my friends. He meant everything to me. All hope was lost, for the longest time."

Ostera paused to wipe away a tear trickling down her cheek. I suddenly was overcome with emotion, and squeezed her hand in sympathy. More tears leaked from her eyes, but she forced herself to smile. "But I'm still going on. I'm living proof that even when you feel everything around you is crashing down, you can go on."

I unconsciously wrapped my arms around her, much to her surprise. "You're so brave, Ostera," I told her.

She hugged me back. For quite some time we sat there in a warm embrace. "Are we friends now, Toaster?"

I looked her right into her crystalline eyes, grinned, and replied, "Of course."

Soon afterward, fatigue got the better of us, and we fell asleep with our cords entwined.

Meanwhile, in the basement, Lampy was fulfilling Elight's favor.

* * *

CLIFFHANGERS FTW. BD

Not much to say about this one, other than it was fun to write and I love the end result. Also, can you tell where I left off for about a month or two and then started back up with obvious implications that the writer has been reading complex Britsh books? (Watership Down and The Plague Dogs, to be exact.)

Lookin' For That Blue-jean Baby Queen, (Again, if you get the song reference, you're awesome~)  
~_UltraVioletSpectrum (aka Mo)_


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